1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an industrial truck, in particular a reach truck, with a vehicle frame and a driver's position that comprises at least one floor plate and one seat. The floor plate and the driver's seat are suspended relative to the vehicle frame.
2. Technical Considerations
Industrial trucks of this type frequently have a suspended driver's seat. The suspension of the driver's seat prevents impacts or vibrations that act on the vehicle frame, for example of the type that can occur as a result of bumps in the road, from being transmitted in whole or in part to the seated driver. The suspended driver's seat is thereby rigidly connected with the vehicle frame by means of an unsuspended component. In some industrial trucks, a floor plate on which the seated driver places his feet and on which he stands when it is necessary to operate the industrial truck from a standing position is frequently also suspended relative to the vehicle frame. The suspension of the floor plate is thereby always independent of the suspension of the driver's seat. The weight to be suspended by means of the floor plate varies greatly, depending on whether the driver is sitting, in which case only his legs are supported on the floor plate, or whether he is standing on the floor plate with the weight of his entire body. Any possible relative movement between the driver's seat and the floor plate can have a negative effect on the ergonomics of the driver's position. The maximum suspension travel of the driver's seat and of the floor plate are therefore set to a lower value than might be desirable with regard to an optimum suspension and damping of the driver's position.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide an ergonomically optimized industrial truck that has a damped driver's position.